The championship was born in 1988, thanks to the initiative of the Italian promoters Fabio and Matteo Flamini, as well as their partners, who then merged into Infront Motorsport with an office in Rome. The competition format proposed at the very beginning in FIM was rejected. Each national federation had a Superbike championship in its calendar, and the idea of ​​uniting them in a certain world series looked vague due to too serious differences in regulations, and just in the concept of the word “Superbike”. What is a Superbike? The concept of “Superbike” at its core is a production motorcycle of the top class (750 cc for 1988 and 1000 cc from 2000), modified by the dealer (this is a very important point!) – lightweight, tuned and well tuned. Initially, according to Infront’s plan, the World Superbike series was supposed to become a championship of private teams – teams organized by factory dealers, but not by the factories themselves. When the first superbikes appeared, this was the case, moreover, in all national series.

Hockenheim, 1988 – the third race in World Superbike history The AMA Superbike and Australian Road Race Championsip took the lead in this type of motorcycle road racing. It was from Australia that the strongest racers came to the States to show what they are capable of. Also, the Australians set the bar in the Japanese and Pan-Asian series (they were easier to reach than America). In Europe, then the Moto Grand Prix championship ruled the ball, and serial motorcycles were chased exclusively in the tourist trophy races. There were also some championships in Italy, Germany and France, but there everyone was striving for the Grand Prix, and the trends were completely different. Finally, the British Superbike has never been as strong as it has become over the past 30 years. With the emergence of WSBK, everything changed in a couple of years. The idea of ​​creating WorldSBK Flammini proposed to reform the Formula TT class, which implied participation in the Isle of Man TT and other trophy series of pilots on modified production motorcycles with engines of 750 and 1000 cc. The FIM agreed to give the series World Cup status. It was enough to spend the very first season at the circuit of Europe, Japan and Australia. The series was a success; in the second year, many world stars went to the start.

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Sachsenring has traditionally been a magnet for motorsport fans. Most of them are Germans, whose motor culture has been inoculated since the 30s of the 20th century, and they are drawn to speed and spectacular races. Sachsenring holds a number of MotoGP attendance records – up to 223,000 per weekend. Now the situation is, of course, completely different. Lockdowns and restrictions in European countries due to Covid-19 again threaten the economy of large public events – festivals, concerts, shows, motorcycle races. In 2020, Germany was unable to host MotoGP due to the fact that without spectators, Sachsenring and the local promoter cannot earn money, and they have to pay a fee for the annual rights to the Grand Prix. They decided to skip the season to return in 2021.
MotoGP boss Carmelo Espeleta MotoGP boss Carmelo Espeleta is confident that this year he will manage to hold 18 stages, despite the high risk of canceling at least four overseas events out of 20 planned earlier. “We still want to host 18 Grand Prix. If it does not work out according to plan, we are ready to carry out some stages in a double format, as in Qatar. But we assess the situation every week and make new plans. In fact, there are many fallbacks – Plan B and Plan C. But the first thing we are striving for is that MotoGP will stop running with empty stands, ”said Espeleta after the presentation of the Spanish Grand Prix and a new contract, according to which Circuito de Jerez will be guaranteed to host the main national MotoGP race until the end of 2026. At the same time, Espeleta had to agree with the arguments of the Governments of Spain and Andalusia: the Spanish Grand Prix on May 1-2, 2021 will again be held behind closed doors. At the same time, Germany continues to cancel the stages of the IDM Superbike national championship, which was supposed to start on May 1-2 in Lausitz and continue on May 7-8 at Sachsenring – due to a lockdown, at least until May 19, any events considered “massive “will be canceled. But then … Which track is guaranteed to be the first to receive spectators?
“I think we can count on Mugello, but the main thing is Sachenring: we have already reached an agreement whereby Germany can open the doors to the audience. I hope to sell at least 10,000 tickets. But maybe there will be even more, ”said Espeleta.

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The Portimão podium was the fourth in a row for Remy Gardner, the third in a row since the start of the 2021 season. Gardner Jr. immediately showed a desire to fight, at least for a place in the top three, but also for a victory with Sam Lowes. This season from the very beginning in some way echoes the historical events of 1986-87.

Wayne Gardner with his son Remy at the Phillip Island Circuit starting straight, 2018 Wayne Gardner leads the World Championship Moto Grand Prix in the Royal 500cc class. May 4, 1986, winning the Spanish Grand Prix at the Jaram circuit. Wayne had every chance of winning that championship, but Eddie Lawson, like Sam Lawson (even the names of these riders are consonant!), Had an incredible winning streak, winning 7 out of 11 Grand Prix held that year.

Eddie Lawson (Yamaha # 1) and Wayne Gardner (Honda # 2), 1987 Sr. Gardner lost the lead to Lawson at the next stage, they went 1-2 until the final in Misano. Obviously, Lawson prevailed in the championship, like Sam Laws this year: even the fall and loss of points at the race in Assen did not stop Eddie – he became the champion, Gardner Sr – the vice-champion. But the desire to take the title remained, and Wayne took the Premier Class title in 1987.

A father should be proud of his son. But could it be otherwise? Wayne turned Remy into the person we know: in total, the investments that the Gardners had to make in Remy’s future exceeded 2.5 million euros. When Remy first got on a motorcycle at the age of 4 and started showing good results in Australia, Wayne immediately decided that they would not achieve anything at home. Wayne sold everything he had, borrowed more money and moved with his son to Europe. By the time Remy Gardner made his Moto3 debut, Wayne had already spent about 2 million euros. The family received their first “cashback” only in 2021, when Remi signed a contract with Ajo Racing.

Remy Gardner, Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 Remy Gardner started from the front line and snatched 3rd place in a fight with American Joe Roberts. Thanks to a run to the podium, Gardner took the lead in the Moto2 general classification with a 6-point lead over Portuguese Grand Prix winner Raul Fernandez, team-mate in Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Double Podiums in Portimao: Fernandez vs. Gardner There is a long and very tense title fight going on because unlike in 1986, Gardner will have more than one real competitor. He understands this well: “I have become the leaders of the championship – this is an incredible feeling, because this is the first time in my life. But to be honest, I expected more from today’s race – said Remy Gardner. – Considering how I conducted the qualification, I had a good chance of winning. But I’ve made too many unforgivable mistakes. So it was a tough day. And it became especially difficult because of the heat: at some point I began to worry that I would not be able to finish above the TOP-5. Therefore, I am glad to be on the podium and congratulate Raul on his first victory: it seems that now we will often intersect not only in the Red Bull KTM Ajo box, but (hopefully) in the closed park after the finish! “

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Generations of journalists don’t change as often as generations of motorcycle racers. Some journalists started working in MotoGP back in the 80s, but the old guard is dropping out, and there are fewer veterans in the press center. And since 2020, the number of professional journalists has been artificially limited due to covid restrictions. Finally, in 2021, starting with the Portuguese Grand Prix, Dorna Sports decided to return about a fifth of the print and electronic media. And among them there are only a few who are used to dealing with paper protocols. Dorna has calculated how much of the printed matter has to be produced (and half is disposed of after each step): to print all the protocols, rounds and bulletins, Dorna employees made an average of 20,000 copies; these protocols were laid out in special trays on the information board, from where journalists and team representatives took them and took them with them for research; often, immediately after reading, bulletins and minutes were sent to the trash can; however, 1 ton of paper passed through printers and copiers over the weekend.

In addition, from the Portuguese Grand Prix, Dorna is completely moving to online accreditation. After all, all those admitted to the paddock, one way or another, receive their own identification code, install a special application on their smartphone, which is a pass to the MotoGP stages. The only thing that will remain in printed form is the stickers for parking passes for cars, stickers for scooters and badges, by which guards and marshals can identify all visitors to the stage.

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From the race partner Marc Marquez was brought out by a technical problem with the rear brake – it just stopped working. Paul, who uses the rear brake a lot when cornering, decided to pull out. “We don’t yet know what happened to him and why, but after a couple of laps the rear brake just disappeared. Because of this, I drove to the safety zone a couple of times, lost several positions and no longer saw any reason to continue the fight, “said Espargaro after the race. Then, after the end of the stage, at a press briefing, Paul added: “If we had a leak, its appearance on the track could lead to dangerous consequences for others. Knowing this, I tried to return to the pit lane. Unfortunately, we were unable to understand the nature of this problem. This happens in races. We look forward to returning to Jerez and showing our best. In addition, Stefan [Bradl] managed to carry out a number of important tests and prepared a lot of important information for our engineers. “

Repsol Honda acknowledged that what happened to Paul Espargaro was an unfortunate coincidence that does sometimes happen in technical sports. The team has no complaints about the pilot. In the very first race of the season – the Qatar Grand Prix, Espargaro immediately entered the TOP-10 and finished his debut MotoGP stage 8th. Portuguese Grand Prix MotoGP Results MotoGP Championship Positions After Portuguese Grand Prix

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The contract was already in effect until 2024, but was extended yesterday. Given Dorna’s plans to rotate racetracks on the calendar and possibly reduce the number of Spanish circuits in favor of new players, the new contract is a guarantee that the tradition established in 1987 – to hold the Spanish Grand Prix in early May in Jerez de la Frontera will be saved no matter what.

Spanish Grand Prix – one of the key MotoGP events on the calendar Friday, April 23rd, Dorna Sports President Carmelo Espeleta arrived at the Circuito de Jerez, as well as the entire leadership of the regional government of Andalusia and the municipality of Jerez. During a small press conference, a new 5-year plan for the main Spanish motorcycle racing event was presented. MotoGP is back on track despite Europe’s controversial COVID-19 situation. Starting with the Portuguese Grand Prix, which took place right on schedule in Portimão on April 18, all the scheduled European Moto Grand Prix races are due to take place until September 19.

Circuito de Jerez was named Angela Nieto a few years ago. Unfortunately, the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix will again be held behind closed doors, without paddock guests and spectators. But local authorities hope this is the last such event in history.

The economy of the region, and in particular Jerez de la Frontera, is formed by only two sectors – winemaking and motor sports. Dorna Sports put together all the resources in the mid-80s to build a circuit in this place and make it the number 1 in all of Spain. Dorna found investors, secured the support of the Spanish government and the regional authorities. When the circuit was built in 1987 and the first Grand Prix races were held on it, no one thought it would be a turning point in the life of Jerez and all of Andalusia.

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